Esharin
"The skies roared thunder, the air running thick with the flying sand. But louder then the storm sounded the song of the daugthers. And when daylight shed the sands golden, the desert gave birth to its first and only childer. This day, the sands that swallowed Mu Karath gave us a new home" -Oracle of An Keth Introduction The Esharin are the first civilisation of the Aniter and inhabit the dry east of Apophis. Since the Dark Ages they have been the strongest empire in the entire dimension. History The Dark Ages After the fall of Mu Karath, Esharion lead the Aniter out of the gardens before they where swallowed by the First Storm. He was a godking of his own right, a almost immortal man that lived for hundreads of years. He was Hagashs chosen son, first of the 14 Hagashin. Unlike his brothers who seeked vengeance, he wished to guide his people further and they embraced him as their true leader. According to the great legend of (...), Esharin and the Aniter where lost in the great Tutafan desert. Without water or food, they had to face a miserable death. Their fate did not abandon however, as the nightsky lit up in the flames of Namaphat, the great comet. Esharin was the first to see it and soon, his scholars supported him as he followed the skies guidance. It took them 80 days and 80 day to find a way out of the great desert, but thanks to the comet that was even visible in the brightest daylight, they found their ways to the steppe in the heart of Apophis. Here, they found the ruins of a once great city. Under the pale stonewalls, the Asak greeted the Aniter. For 6 weeks the tribes stayed at this city that became known as Tatoth. Esharin saw the glory of these creatures that where much wiser then mankind, but also weak in numbers and flesh. In order to make a mutual paradise close to Mu Karath itself, he decided the Aniter would stay in the Asak lands. The Second Sundering The majortiy of his people did not support this idea however. They rather followed Namaphat further, believing the paradise lay in the west ripe for the taking. Although Esharion knew a paradise could not simply be found, he was aware every attempt to convince them would be fruitless. The great lizards did not simply let them go however. No warning of their Great Enemy that ruled over the west could stop the Aniter. At last, they cursed all those that abandoned Esharions lead just to walk into the jaws of the Great Serpent. Each and every of these Aniter would face their doom threw lies, storm and drought in the desert. They would rather let them die then give the Samesi new servants to infect. Hayad and Nasan, the new leaders of the Aniter, cared little for this curse. They lead the majortiy of their kin to the west in order to find the promised paradise. Those true to Esharion stayed however, forming the Esharin, first of the fourteen tribes to come. The Age of Restoration Esharion himself became to human voice of the living gods of the Asak. The Esharin however spread across the five remaining cities of their new masters. From them they learned a new language, architecture and faith. They studied the their arts of war and magic aswell as peace and philosophy. Due to these teachings, the Esharin quickly prospered, slow but steadly spreading and rebuilding the cities that where depopulated threw the Scaleblight. The humans proved very benefical to the Asak. Not only since they made up for their low numbers and slow breeding cycle, but also because they where skilled scholar and servants. Unlike the Aniter under the rule of the Suthekru, the Esharin served their masters only be conviction and failure was never punished. The Anit War After the years passed and the kunic empire of the Asak slowly rose to its old glory. The living gods decided, with their humans servants and new ressources, they might be able to bring back the war to their ancient enemy. Although Esharion tried to stop them, they confinced him at last and started to recruit a great army across the five cities. At last, they began their conquest, marching into the west in order to burn the forest and raise the dark temples. Over twenty thousand Esharin marched in this army, accompanied by several hundread of Asak and four of the five living gods. They wished to suprise their enemies with a quick movement of their army, hoping they wouldnt expect war at all. The Suthekru however where prepared. Before the Asaks forces could even reach the nawangian jungles, they walked right into a trap. The first and bloodiest battle of the war to come became known as Nut sha Alathat ''or "Night of Bloody Tears". The enemy revealed the countless servants and Samesi that infiltraited the Esharin soceity since hundreads of years. Unseen blades cut threw the throats of the majority of the generals and wild Samesi ravadged across their camp. The ranks where already devastated before the Suthekru forces even arrived. They brought their own human army together with three Suthekru gods and countless of their serpentine servants. The Asak forces where completly destroyed and scattered into the night. Within a few hours, thousands of humans had lost their life, together with three of the Asak gods. What was almost worst for the Aniter was, that the Suthekru managed to capture Esharion. They infected him soon after and he returned as a Samesi, strenghten by dark powers. In the following years, a long war ensued. Although the first battle would always be the biggest, the Suthekru send their agents and servants, slowly grinding the Asak empire from within. Esharion himself waged war against his former homeland, uniting the most dangerous of the Samesi and human servants under his banner. Many of his old friends and servants even joined him. The last battle of the Anit war burned out as Esharion and his cabal attacked ''An Keth, ''the greatest of the five cities. They managed to invade the palace atlast, but his former servants trapped him and his Samesi on the roof before burning the entire temple to ensure that each and every servant of darkness died. Esharion is believed to met his end there. Culture Script and Language The Esharin scripture derived from ''Alaruut, a script used by the Haquid and (...) which originates from humanities first texts of the First Cult. Over the ages, the Esharin changed Alaruut swoly over the ages. After Pratonian influences, they created the scripture known as Chapra, which is still used today. According to Esharin believe, the first tribes made their scripture after the roots of the Jaladai trees. It is said it was the first time the Anit saw trees again after the long hardship of the Tutafan desert, and this moment served as inspiration for their scholars. Each sentence consists of a straight line to which letters can be attached, forming words. Depending on the categorie the letters are either attached to the middle, the upper- or the lower part of the line. The end of a word is marked by a small space devoid of attached letters. Esharin cities The Esharic empire, also known as Kurashai, consists only of six cities. Although they build alot of smaller towns and villages along the most important traderoutes, they continued the Asak tradition. Five of these cities are older then mankind itself, while the sixt was build during the pratonian reign. Structure Each of the five ancient cities follows the same basic structure. In its core lies a giant temple, once build to heat the Asak eggs with the power of the suns. After the ancient gods have been cast out, each of the great temples became the center of the Esharin nobility, priesthood and wealth. In its giant chambers there lie several palaces, armories and fains. The temple has four great gates from four which gigantic straight streets lead to the outer reaches of the city. Around the temple lie the holy gardens. Depending on the city they are either on ground level or way below, forming a artifical canyon full of water streams, exotic animals and plants. These gardens are huge, the smallest about 60 square kilometers while the gardens of Sash Anu are larger then the rest of the city. These gardens contain holy animals from Apophis aswell as exotic creatures from the islands or other dimensions. They life in the shades of giant trees and all sorts of other plants. In modern times, the gardens also contain artifacts and statues, expressing the wealth and worldliness of the cities leaders. The gardens are strictly guarded and every lowborn entering them without permission is publicly executed. A inner wall protects the temple and gardens from the outer reaches of the city which host the poorer population. These outer districts are divided in four areas, each facing one side of the temple. The dawn district, usually the wealthiest and cleanest, represents the sunrise. The sun district represents noon and is usually the main trading point of the city. It also hosts the House of Maad, the main public temple of each city. The dusk district is usually the poorest. The fourth, usually facing the Kune desert, is the district of night and does not house the living. It is a giant graveyard where the dead from the cities population are drained from their bornwater and stored in small houses. Only the families mourning the loss of their beloved and the mortuary priests are allowed to enter this district of the city. The Esharin believe that the spirits of the dead live on their life in the district of night and the size of their house represents their status. The outer walls wich a gate on each of the four sides seal the city against attackers. The poorest members of the Esharin live in overcrowded slums pressing against these great walls. Some cities have almost no slums while others like An Keth are bigger then the city itself. Even though they strech across several kilometers no Esharin would dare to build his house at the walls of the fourth district. The eight gates of each city are usually made from brass, bronze or even gold and are highly decorated. Despite the temple they are each cities pride and represent a replica of the great Gates of Mu Karath. They are guarded by two giant beasts made from stone. They are believed to awaken when the city is in eminent danger. The six cities * An Keth- An Keth is the biggest of all cities. It does not only host the Category:Lore Category:Humans